Open Road Integrated Media Launches Open Road Ignition, A Marketing Services Group

NEW YORK, Oct. 11, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Open Road Integrated Media (OR/M) has taken its success connecting with readers to the next level by offering publishing partners a full-service marketing program called "Open Road Ignition" where OR/M will market backlist titles on behalf of other publishers across all channels.

Open Road Ignition represents a suite of tiered marketing services including a "white glove" program in which OR/M provides hands-on marketing for external publishers' titles. In addition, there are numerous "a la carte" services such as newsletter placement, a host of integrated content options, daily deals programs, social media engagement and more.

An early adopter of the full-service program, Ellen Archer, President of Trade Publishing at Houghton Mifflin Harcourt said "We're aware of the success Open Road has had marketing its own list. As another publisher with a robust list of iconic backlist titles, we are interested to see how the focus and sophistication they bring to backlist marketing will benefit our list. We're always looking to find more ways to reach as many readers as possible, and we're excited to work together with Open Road on this initiative."

Earlier this year, OR/M announced that its newsletter business is up to over 1 million subscribers with a very engaged following resulting in an average 28% conversion to sale.  These newsletters include Early Bird Books for fans of discounted ebooks, The Lineup for fans of true-crime and horror, and The Portalist for fans of science fiction and fantasy, A Love So True for romance fans, Murder & Mayhem, for mystery and thriller fans, and The Archive, for history and non-fiction fans.  In 2017, the newsletters have delivered a 253% increase in ebook revenue over the same period in 2016.

"The key to the whole engine is our increasing sophistication around audience development and engagement," said Paul Slavin, CEO. "The response to our newsletters has been extraordinary, and our ability to give our consumers the books and products they love has driven significant sales increases for us. Based on that success our network of external partners is growing, which allows us to provide our readers with an even broader selection of bestselling books."

OR/M's success with newsletters has attracted partners from across the industry: Hachette Book Group, Macmillan, HarperCollins, and Houghton Mifflin Harcourt feature their ebooks in OR/M's newsletters. The full-service program that Open Road Ignition delivers goes beyond newsletter placement, driving sales in a holistic way. This includes pricing optimization, metadata excellence, rich descriptive copy, highly targeted advertising and a tactical, data-driven marketing package.

While this represents a new stage in OR/M's growth, it is very much in keeping with its original mission. "OR/M has done exactly what Jane Friedman set out to do when she started the company in 2009," said Slavin, "bring great backlist books back to life. And, we have been able to deliver 40% annual revenue growth on our catalog since the end of 2015, by significantly growing our direct-to-consumer relationships."

About Open Road Integrated Media

Open Road Integrated Media is a prestige content brand delivering digital experiences that entertain and inform readers around the world; their network of digital properties produces compelling stories that keep audiences engaged—across devices and around the world. The Open Road brands include Early Bird Books, a daily eBook deals newsletter and website; The Lineup, for fans of true crime, horror, the mysterious, and the paranormal; The Portalist, for fans of science fiction, fantasy; Murder & Mayhem, for fans of mystery and thriller; The Archive, for fans of history and non-fiction; and A Love So True, for fans of romance; and  Open Road Media, a global eBook publisher whose catalog includes legendary authors such as William Styron, Alice Walker, Pat Conroy, Gloria Steinem, Octavia Butler, John Jakes, Pearl S. Buck, Walker Percy, Ruth Rendell, and Sherman Alexie.

SOURCE Open Road Integrated Media

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